Italianissimo! An orchestral, cinematic and operatic spectacular.

Italy! A byword for passion and style, epic scenery and tumultuous history, great food and grand opera. Oh…and one unforgettable football tournament when a larger-than-life tenor captured the spirit of the contest in a single heroic aria.

Composers for film, the opera house and the concert hall have all found a rich source of inspiration in Italy’s scenic locations and vivid stories, from the legions and charioteers of ancient Rome to the love songs of Mario Lanza and the romance of a Roman holiday. This concert celebrates all things Italian in glorious orchestral technicolour as Stephen Bell conducts the Hallé in a performance with something for everyone, whether it’s Hans Zimmer’s spectacular score to Gladiator or Berlioz’s riotous Roman Carnival overture. British tenor Christopher Turner sings the songs and arias, including, of course, the one immortalised by Luciano Pavarotti at Italia ’90, Puccini’s Nessun Dorma. Capping it all, there’s a sensational finale in Ottorino Respighi’s symphonic poem, Pines of Rome, ending with a Roman army marching into the capital, its heavy tread heralded by a blaze of trumpets.